The Dobrindt Family

Thanksgiving 2004

We are spending Thanksgiving with Patti?s parents and brother at their home in the Hamptons, NY. We came down last weekend for Ethan?s Christening and I had to be in NY City on Mon and Tue for work. So Patti stayed at her parent?s house while I was in NY, I took the Long Island Rail Road out on Tuesday night and we are staying until Saturday.

Jim (Patti?s father) is doing a fairly large renovation project on his house and their current kitchen consists of a table, a microwave on the table, a coffee maker on the table, a fridge, and nothing else. Meals get cooked on the grill or microwave and dishes are either thrown out (paper, plastic) or cleaned in the bathtub. For Thanksgiving, Jim is going to barbeque a turkey, something that I am actually really looking forward to.

Have a good one and see everybody on Friday.

- Dave

Our new car...uh...van...mini van

Last week Patti and I made the final leap (or final death throw) into our new life ? we bought a min van. We really had no choice because the car we were using, which served a great purpose for many many years, was too beat up and small to sustain safe delivery of our little family. To the Neon, we will miss you and we hardly knew ye. It was fun while it lasted?I can?t really say that. It was not fun. The car was fairly reliable but was a piece of crap. The only redeeming quality was that no one wanted to steal it. That, and it was so small it got around the small Boston streets just fine.

A couple of things about buying a mini van.

- No matter how you spin it ? it only has 4 miles, it is a cool metallic black color, the tires are shinny, it is clean ? it?s still a mini van.

- It might be functional, and even driving it I feel ok, but seeing other people in them makes me cringe. I think ?do I look like that old woman???

?I?m not old. And I?m not a woman?. Sorry, Monty Python reference.

- I have never purchased a new car. In fact, I have only been to a dealer three or four times in my life. Once to test drive an expensive sports car to get the salesman to sign a form so I could get a free Time Life coffee table book. The second time was when Patti and I were looking for a new car years before Emily came along, a horrible experience because it was like we were playing a game of ?answer the wrong question? with the saleman. We would give him certain parameters and he would pull up something that was not even close to what we just talked about. It was weird. It would be like asking someone how old they are and having them answer ?Six feet, two inches?.

The third time at a dealer we bought the mini van. Overall a good experience because I did not feel pressured or swindled and the sales guy seemed direct and forward. For example, I gave him my criteria and when we were filling out the paper (after we decided to buy the thing) I asked him why he was not trying to sell me the undercoating and he said because I did not say I wanted it.

- It is nice having a warranty. With the other car, and even my truck, I have to worry about how much it will cost if something big breaks.

- While we bought a brand new Caravan, actually, the ?Grand? Caravan, we would have much preferred some giant SUV that could sit like 10 and took up two lanes on the road. But a used one, with considerable miles, with no warranty, is still big bucks. At least not as much as I wanted to spend. You see, I have a fundamental problem partying with my money. I don?t like to do it unless I absolutely have to. Which I was with the car.

Anyway, no big deal. I am well past the stage of trying to impress people with my car. Ha, to be honest, if you saw any of my old cars, you would know I was never like that. My first car was a very much appreciated hand-me-down from my parents ? a 1978 Ford Fiesta. In hind site, a great great car. A rack and pinion steering hatch back 4 speed that I took my road test in. Great car. My second car was my first car I bought, a 1977 Chevy Nova that I put some minor work into, put nice rims on, and was ok. My third and final car before this mini van nonsense was a 1995 Monte Carlo Super Sport. Great looking car, was fast, sounded tough, but it was not me. I never really liked the car even though it looked great. The Neon was Patti?s car before we started dating so I just sort of inherited it, or at least the use of it. Maybe one day I will be able to buy a sporty BMW or an expensive Merceds sedan, or a rough and tumble SUV to take into the woods. But for now, I need space to put my kids, all of the bags and crap that go along with a family, and safely get from point A to point B.

My son's Christening

My son?s Christening is this weekend in NY. He is about 3 and ? months old and we are having him Baptized in the same church that Emily was baptized in, that Patti and I got married in, that I grew up going to and that my mom sang in the choir and played the bells for. My sister Dora got married in the same church as well.

We are heading to NY today, visiting family and friends, having the thing on Sunday and then I have to by in NY City for work on Monday and Tuesday. I am looking forward to it because it will be nice to see family and friends.

Just thought I?d share.

My shoes

Tuesday morning I got up at 4am to begin my day. My intent was to actually get up at 5, shower, get dressed, and head to the airport for an early flight, but at 4am my 2 and ? year old daughter came into my room and climbed into bed with me. My wife, Patti, was asleep with our infant son in his room, which she usually does after feeding him in the middle of the night. Like almost every time that my daughter climbs into bed in the middle of the night, disheveled, slightly disoriented, standing next to the bed waiting for to tell her to climb up, like she really needs an invitation because there is probably nothing more comforting than having your own young child fall asleep next to you, I could not get back to sleep. Most often, when she comes in an hour or two before I have to get up, I am up.

For your information, I had to get up early to fly to Jacksonville, Florida, through Atlanta, for a one and a half hour meeting, to head back to the airport, to fly back to Boston, through Atlanta, to get home at 11:30. Funny thing, this virtual world we live in. Anyway, like I was saying.

I got up at about 4, took a shower, and got dressed by the light of the bathroom coming into the bedroom. I did not want to turn on the lights in the bedroom and wake up my daughter. Not a huge deal because I lay out my clothes the night before an early wake up and knew where everything was. After getting dressed in the dark, I went downstairs, still in the dark because the sun does not really hit the streets in the Northeast until 5:30-ish, got my stuff, and left.

I arrived at the airport by 6:15, easily made it through parking, ticketing, security, and met up with my colleague at the gate. My colleague and I were meeting up with a partner in Atlanta and then proceeding to Florida to meet with execs at a potential client.

So I sat down at the gate, chatted with my colleague for a while, got up and got a coffee, and came back and talked about some other stuff. About 40 minutes before boarding I was about to make a comment about getting dressed in the dark and the risks it faces when I looked down and saw that I had a leather burgundy dress shoe on the left foot and a leather black dress shoe, similar but different style, on my right foot. When I got dressed in the dark 2 hours earlier I grabbed what I thought were a pair of dress shoes but in fact were two totally different shoes. I looked down at my feet, looked at my shocked and about-to-laugh colleague, and said ?Holy Shit?.

Now, I had a problem.

My first thought, no joke, was that we were going to lose this deal because if a senior management consultant could not match his f?in shoes than how could he help some financial company. Then my second thought was to call Patti, have her wake both children, get them dressed, packed in the car, and drive in traffic to the airport within 35 minutes. No way that was going to happen.

Then my next serious thought was ?how many people have seen me walking around with two different shoes??? But who cares. They would have no idea I did it for Emily, a 2 and ? year old girl sleeping like an angel back in Milton. About to wake up to another wondrous day playing and being happy.

One thing I have to mention is that I am fairly methodical. I think options through, benefits and risks, carefully plan and think through the process. I am good with this. So I said to my colleague, who mercifully gave me very little initial grief, that we have to use the 2 hours of spare time we had in Jacksonville to stop and buy a pair of shoes. Not a huge deal because I needed to buy a new pair of shoes anyway.

My colleague agreed and after a brief moment of clarify and revelation, told me to call the partner in Atlanta that we were meeting and see what shoe size he wears. He and I are about the same size and make, and he might be able to grab an old pair of loafers or something from one of his many closets. But that proved a moot point when he was in his car already, heading to the Atlanta airport.

This partner, who is a kindred spirit because he is also a transplanted Long Islander, quickly called back and said he would buy me a pair of shoes at the shoe store in the Atlanta airport. He dresses well and I had no concern that he would pick out a nice looking pair.

So I sat through the 2+ hour flight from Boston to Atlanta, hiding my feet, and met up with the partner at the Delta Concierge lounge to get my goods. He bought me a very nice and trendy pair of shoes, which were on sale by the way. I changed in the bathroom.

The one funny thing about this was when I first walked up to the partner he said ?I got you a great pair of shoe sand they only cost 340?. Ha. Good one.

bastard

Driving in Massachusetts

If you?ve read anything on this site, you know I try to stay positive and inspirational. Only good comments here, not bad. But I have to say something about Mass-holes, a word used to describe a large percentage of drivers in Massachusetts.

I stopped my weekly travel in August. That is a good thing, but now I drive to work every day, 10 miles in the morning, and 10 miles in the evening, right through the city. I live just south of Boston and work in Cambridge, just north of Boston. I actually like driving (instead of taking the subway) because it gives me time to listen to the radio and the flexibility/freedom to leave whenever I want. Plus I listen to talk radio, which is hard in the subway.

But there is one thing that bugs the living crap out of me and makes me think about taking public transportation. Years ago when I was taking a defensive driving course to get 10% off my insurance I was told to leave a safe distance from the car in front of me on the highway. The general rule of thumb was for every 10 miles an hours add 1 second of time that passes when the car in front of you goes by a fixed object and you go by the same fixed object. So if I am going 60 miles an hour, as soon as the car in front of me passes, let?s say a sign post, I should count to 6 and that is when I should pass the same fixed object. In reality, that would leave an unrealistic amount of space, so I usually just guess at a safe distance. But it?s a pretty good rule.

In Massachusetts, abiding by this rule is seen as a sign of weakness on the roads. If I leave anything more than a few inches, and my lane is moving faster than the other lanes, cars will instantly cut in front of me. It?s almost like some crazy highway video game where the winner is able to cut and weave and finish the race first.

So every morning, and evening, as I move along 93, also known as the Central Artery, or the Southeast Expressway, depending on where you are, I have to drive right up the a** of the car in front of me. The second, and I am not exaggerating, the millisecond, I leave anything close to a car length, some moron quickly cuts in front of me.

At times I realize a legit driver has to move over to get off an exit ramp or something, but you can tell who they are. They use turn signals. Massholes do not use turn signals. In fact, when you buy a car in Massachusetts, turn signals are an expensive option that is rarely purchased.

Nothing I can do about it, except inch along close to the car in front of my like everyone else. Oh sure, you Defense Driving course instructors are telling me to keep leaving space, but then cars will keep cutting in front of me, resulting in the need for me to actually stop my car and wait until 3 in the morning when the roads are empty. Not a realistic option.

One other quick thing. During traffic, if I have to get over, I use my turn signal and wait for an opening. Another core trait of Massachusetts drivers is the unwillingness to let another driver in front of them. At least once a day, I put my turn signal on, wait for an opening, and then start to move over. This is usually done when traffic is moving very slowly. The second, again, not exaggerating, the second I start to move over, the car in the lane slams on the accelerator, and makes DAMN sure that I cannot get in front of them. You see, to the other driver, I am a threat, someone who will cause them to lose this freakin game, and I CANNOT be allowed to move in front of them in traffic. Oh sure, sometimes I?ll get someone nice enough to just let me move over in traffic, but they have out of state license plates.

Whey can?t everyone be like me. At least on the roads.

Just thought I?d vent.

ABC's "Lost"

Every Wednesday night at 8 you can find me in front of the TV watching the show ?Lost?. When ABC started promoting Lost, I was into it. It had two things that I really love - airplane travel and desert islands. The show is about an airplane crash with survivors being stranded on a desert island, but I was stilled pumped. After all, who would not love this? The older sibling from Party of Five hangs out with a bunch of other people and they try to survive on an island after crashing from the sky where other people from a previous crash may still live and oh yeah there is a monster who eats people. Good stuff.

The show started out well enough. It quickly introduced some kind of creature that was tall and bumped into bushes and trees a lot. My wife mentioned it could be a dinosaur so I thought ?cool, dinosaurs?. After all, who doesn?t love dinosaurs and if Jurassic Park taught us one thing it was that man and dinosaurs are NOT meant to live together. But then they showed us a polar bear. A freakin? polar bear. Are you kidding me? They did not tell us the big creature was just a large polar bear, but I fear they are going down that road. So maybe no dinosaurs. Damn it.

Then the show started doing something that I hate with any story, whether it?s in a book, TV or in a movie. They started to introduce the supernatural into real life. Its fine if supernatural is part of the overall theme, like that Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings nonsense. I might not like it but at least I am expecting it. But to have the lead character see his dead father walking around!! Stop it. And the only thing I hate more than supernatural is strange dream sequences. Maybe I am not smart enough, but to try to interpret the meaning of someone dreaming something totally obsure from reality bugs me. Strange since my favorite TV series of all time was Twin Peaks, but still, I hate it.

So the show started to worry me when it introduced walking dead people that are either supernatural or part of some nonsense dream sequence.

The other thing about the show is that it makes NO attempt at hidden symbolism. It spells it out letter by letter, then explains it again, three times, slowly, to the audience. It just basically gives up that anyone watching the show can figure out a metaphor. If you saw it last week you know I am talking about that ridiculous caterpillar-moth-drug addict-kicking-his-habit crap they did. Was it really necessary to have the moth fly away at the same time the guy threw his drugs in the fire? Come on now Matthew, we expect more out of a series that you are staring in.

The last thing that bugs me is that the fat guy is not losing weight. Are you telling me that after 7 days of eating left over airline food and drinking very little water, an obese young guy would not start losing weight? And as my friend Tom pointed out, what happened to the gash in Charlie Salinger?s back? A week ago he had his girlfriend stitch him up with yarn and now there is not even a red mark. When I cut my finger last month cutting up boxes for the recyclable bin it took three weeks to get rid of the scab. And I still have a little scar.

Anyway, the show is fine for now. Entertaining enough. Just wish they stayed away from supernatural dream sequences that involve tropical polar bears who are symbolic.

Election Day 2004

I woke up extra early today, jumped out of bed, and went through my morning routine with an extra bounce in my step. Today is ELECTION DAY. That?s right. It?s Election Day 2004. By this time tomorrow we will be well into a series of drawn out law suites filed by the losing side to keep the public from coming to grips with whoever is elected.

Times like this remind me of words from the great Mary Lou Lord song ?Shake Sugaree?

?I pawned my horse
Pawned my plow
Pawned everything
Even my old milk cow?

Actually, that reference makes no sense at all but I have been trying to plug it in somewhere so I thought I?d do it here.

Like I was saying, today is Election Day ?04, an exciting time to be an American. A couple of thoughts.

- No matter who wins, we can be guaranteed that the president will be a wealthy privileged man who never had to take a risk in his life to provide for his family. Both guys have never had to worry about coming up with money to fix the brakes on their 10 year old car.

- They predict about 110 million people will vote this year. Some are saying it could be as high as 122 after the ?vote often? thing. There are roughly 300 million people in this country. There are roughly 200 million eligible voters. There are roughly 130 million registered votes. I think that if you are eligible, you should vote. It?s your right and a privilege. The popular vote might not be the one that counts, but in theory it matters because the popular vote should mirror the electoral vote. Or so they say.

- If Kerry wins, I wonder if they will let Edwards give his speech. The thought of listening to Kerry for any length of time makes me want to throw up on myself.

- They say the election will be decided by Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. I actually think the election will come down to Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Nevada. Not sure why, but a feeling I am getting.

I plan on staying glued to the TV tonight watching the elections. Except of course to watch NYPD Blue. But before and after the 10-11 PM time slot, I plan on watching Tim Russert and Tom Brokaw tell us almost nothing all night.